Honors

OVERVIEW

The honors program at Baldwin Wallace helps motivated and talented students make the most of their college experience by joining a community of scholars dedicated to academic excellence, leadership development and community engagement.

The Liberal Arts — Redefined

Interdisciplinary and experiential, the honors program offers unique courses and an enhanced core curriculum that blend the theoretical and the practical. Encouraging academic exploration and independent thinking, the honors program can augment any program of study and expand the opportunities available to students.

A Path of Leadership

From a student's first experiences at the honors retreat to acting as a mentor to other honors students to planning University-wide events, the honors program offers countless opportunities for students to grow and be challenged as campus leaders. Developing the skills and self-awareness necessary for leadership is one of the central commitments of the program.

Engaging the Whole Student

More than just an academic course of study, the honors program strives to develop the whole student. We work to build lasting relationships among students and between students, faculty and staff. Committed to giving back to our community, the program encourages students to make use of their talents through service opportunities like tutoring refugees in English, organizing a campus coat-drive and working with local nonprofit organizations.

Two Days and Nights of Fun

The first-year student retreat offers an empowering beginning to your honors experience. Designed to initiate new students to the honors community, the retreat provides an opportunity for you to start developing friendships, have fun and learn about adjusting to college life.

A Wealth of Opportunities

An aspiring OB/GYN now in medical school, Sarah Cunningham ‘16 received financial support from the honors program to do research in Uganda on women's and children’s issues. She utilized her research for an honors thesis. Funding is one of the many benefits of the honors program.

Living and Learning Community

The honors program offers vibrant residential experiences for first-year students and upperclassmen in three unique residence halls. Honors students enjoy the stimulating intellectual and social atmosphere of living with other engaged students.

Not More Difficult, but More Deeply Engaged

Honors program courses are innovative and experiential. A recent course, "The Science and Culture of Food," explored the science behind food preparation and the effect of culture and geography on eating habits. For their final project, 20 students presented a 13-course dinner at the BW president's house.

Learning Through Service

Honors students engage in service locally and around the world. Many projects can generate honors credit or be financially supported by honors. Twenty-two BW honors students and faculty recently traveled to Guatemala in a trip that combined classroom learning with travel and service.

CURRICULUM

At the heart of the honors program, honors courses offer unique opportunities to enhance your skills as an independent and critical thinker. Honors courses are small, seminar-style courses taught by the very best of BW's faculty.

Interdisciplinary and Experiential

The honors program offers a new set of courses each year that help students engage in thinking across subject areas and between the theoretical and the practical. Often involving hands-on work in the classroom, community or laboratory, honors classes provide a setting for experimentation and rich engagement with the liberal arts.

Not More Difficult, but More Deeply Engaged

Intended to be exciting, distinctive and skill-building, honors courses do not require more work than non-honors classes and should not be thought of as “harder” than non-honors classes. Our courses provide special opportunities for enriching your education regardless of your area of study.

Invisible Americans

With a focus on philosophies of social justice and marginalization, this service-learning course helps students bring theories to life through service placements like tutoring refugees in English or working with teens in the justice system.

Problem Solving I and II

Designed to develop experience and skills in tackling new, unstructured problems, these courses ask students to work in teams to uncover and optimize possible solutions to problems from the fields of risk management, operations research, logic, pattern recognition and more.

The Science and Culture of Food

An interactive course involving cooking and tasting, this course explores the science behind food preparation as well as the cultural and geographical constraints on what we eat and why.

Classroom to Kitchen: Culinary delights created by a group of BW honors students unite fun and experiential learning as part of a Science and Culture of Food course. The students, who learned about chemistry by cooking various foods, dished out a tasty final exam meal at the home of BW President Bob Helmer for renowned guests.

Reacting to the Past: The Hutchinson Trial

In this class, students will study the literary and cultural history of 17th century America and then create their own versions of colonial characters as they decide whether or not to banish the radical Anne Hutchinson.

With flexibility and self-direction in mind, honors options allow a student to turn any non-honors course into an honors experience by adding an additional project.

Aubrie Powell '15, music composition: For a course, Acting Shakespeare, Aubrie wrote a new musical score to accompany the class production of "All's Well that Ends Well" and directed her fellow students in the musical production.

Amanda Koberling '15, theatre and arts management: As an addition to an internship with the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee, Amanda wrote a manual for managing the festival's online database.

Honors service-learning classes give students an opportunity to connect their classroom learning to the lives and organizations of the surrounding community. Students in a service-learning section of honors English write grants for local nonprofits, and students in a course on social justice serve meals at an area shelter and conduct historical research for a Native American organization.

Student Experiences

As one of three pillars of the honors program, our focus on student-directed research is about empowering students to learn to ask their own questions and seek sophisticated answers. With numerous options available, honors students pursue research in every discipline with the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Every honors program student will culminate his/her college experience with a thesis project tailored to each student's needs and interests. While many projects take the form of a traditional thesis focused either on laboratory or text-based research, other students choose creative or technical projects.

Heather Biernacki '15, "Classic and Contemporary Literature: From Reviews to the Classroom"

Courtney Fraley '15, "The Importance of Self-Awareness in Effective Leadership"

Harmonie Grosso '15, "The Effects of Music vs. Competition on Running Performance"

Additional opportunities to pursue research and produce original creative work abound at BW, many of which can generate honors credit. Honors students frequently participate in summer scholars, a competitive, funded, summer research program. Others work during the school year on collaborative research or creative projects through faculty/student collaborative research courses. Students who have completed research projects are able to get support from the honors program to present their research at academic conferences in their areas of study, or can go with the honors program to present at the Mid-East Honors Association conference each spring.

Aspiring OB/GYN physician Sarah Cunningham '16 united her passion for women's health issues with research relating to her public health major. With partial funding from the BW honors program, she traveled to Uganda to conduct field research — an opportunity she described as a dream come true.

Each fall, the honors leadership through mentoring program teams our upperclassmen with our incoming first-year students for a mentoring experience that revolves around service. Mentors and mentees develop lasting relationships by making meaningful contributions to the lives of others together.

Dedicated to holistic education, the honors program sees community engagement as an essential element of student growth and development. As one of the pillars of the honors program, service to our communities helps students develop transferable skills as well as deepening their awareness of the wider world around them.

The BW Office of Community Outreach offers a wide variety of opportunities to get involved in service, some of which can generate honors credit hours or can be financially supported by honors. Honors students attend alternative break programs, traveling around the country to serve over University breaks. Project Affinity is a summer service program that counts as an honors experience by placing students in nonprofit internships.

This past spring, the honors leadership board led a campus-wide drive that collected nearly 3,000 personal care items for Trials for Hope, a local nonprofit outreach program.

Honors Retreat

Two Days and Nights of Fun

Before the academic year commences, the honors program hosts an off-campus overnight retreat for incoming first-year students. Designed to initiate new students into the honors community, the retreat packs in exciting, team-building activities such as a climbing wall, a high ropes course, archery and canoeing as well as book discussions, a talent show and a workshop on the transition to college.

Begin Building Friendships Immediately

The retreat provides an opportunity for new students to start developing friendships that will last for a lifetime. Sharing this experience means that honors students have something in common right away and can build on that foundation as their relationships develop in the coming months and years at BW.

Mentoring and the Honors Community

First-year students are not the only students we take to the retreat — we also bring along a group of upperclass honors peer mentors who act as leaders, friends and advisors through the experience. These mentors will work with the first-year class beyond the retreat helping our new students adjust to college life and get engaged with our local communities.

Honorable Mention Newsletter

A true insider-perspective of the honors program, the newsletter connects you to what is currently happening in the program with articles written by the students themselves. If you'd like to be on the distribution list, e-mail honors@bw.edu.

LIVING AND LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Honors offers vibrant residential experiences for first-year students and upperclassmen in three unique residence halls:

21 Beech is a vibrant, close-knit residential community where lasting friendships are formed. This residence hall is all honors first-year students.

First-year honors students can choose to live in a suite-style residence hall with other honors students. Saylor Hall is a part of the Davidson Commons.

Honors upperclassmen can continue to live together in the centrally-located, Carmel Living/Learning Center.

Academically Supportive Environment

Join a community of ambitious, intelligent and passionate students. You will be able to live and work in a quiet environment where other students respect your goals and share your commitment to excellence.

Learning Outside the Classroom

Living together will encourage you to attend campus events and join student organizations with your honors peers. You will enjoy the stimulating intellectual and social atmosphere of living with other engaged students and together take advantage of programming sponsored by the honors program, honors leadership board and residence life.

Feels Like Home!

Being a part of a supportive, close-knit environment with other dedicated honors students helps you form friendships that last all four years and beyond. Each residence hall is air-conditioned, carpeted and equipped with a kitchen and multiple student lounges.

FACULTY & STAFF

Dr. Amy E. LeboHonors Program Director and Associate Professor of PhilosophyPh.D. in Philosophy, University of OregonGraduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies, University of OregonM.A. in Philosophy, University of OregonB.A. in Philosophy and Religion, Emory University(440) 826-2266alebo@bw.edu

Margaret StinerHonors Program Associate Director and Lecturer in EnglishM.A.T. in English, Brown UniversityB.A. in English and Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross(440) 826-2242mstiner@bw.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

Honors students have access to enhanced educational opportunities designed to foster long-term intellectual, personal and career growth. These include unique, interdisciplinary courses that encourage creative and critical thinking, opportunities to be mentored by upperclassmen and then to become a mentor yourself, career-development workshops, leadership training, service-learning opportunities, participation in academic conferences and more. You are also part of a community of learners. Many honors students have met their friends for life through the program because of the bonding that took place freshman year through shared living in the residence hall, enrichment activities, classes and other community-building experiences. Mentoring and personal development are also a major part of the honors experience. In addition to having an academic faculty advisor in your major, you will work closely with the honors program director, Dr. Amy Story, to achieve your personal and professional goals.

Honors students have access to special educational opportunities designed to foster their long-term intellectual and personal growth, thus setting them up to be more successful in their applications to jobs or graduate school. Having studied a second language, completed a higher level math, written a senior thesis and participated in internships, research experiences and substantive service work are all important markers that demonstrate a commitment to go the extra mile to develop your abilities and to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Our coursework and personal development experiences will help you become a better leader, team-member, critical thinker, and communicator—all skills that are highly sought-after in the working world. The diverse body of experiences and competency across skill sets is what sets our students apart from their competition.

The honors program has a couple of graduation requirements that go a beyond what you might have to do for your major or the regular BW core curriculum.

Those requirements are as follows:

Complete a minimum math level of pre-calculus (MTH 140).

Reach intermediate level second language proficiency (equivalent of two years of college language study), or one year of study in two languages.

Write a senior thesis, a project intended to give you an opportunity to work with a faculty mentor and produce a final product that will assist you in reaching your long-term goals.

Take a total of 24 credit hours in honors (about 20% of your total hours required to graduate).

The 24 credit hours will be made up of a variety of honors courses and experiences. Some courses are basic requirements, like the first-year English course (ENG 131), while others are special topics courses. Honors students can also fulfill honors elective credits through a wide range of options that encourage them to broaden their experiences, engage with community partners and build their resumes. For example, students can get honors credit for studying abroad, partaking in substantive service work, securing competitive and educational internships and doing independent research with a faculty mentor.

The honors program does require a somewhat more rigorous core curriculum than that required of the non-honors BW student, as noted above. In terms of the experience in honors courses, there is no reason to believe that these courses will be “harder” than non-honors. Instead, honors courses are of a different nature than non-honors. They are intended to be interdisciplinary explorations of specific topics and are designed to help students make connections between theoretical ideas and real-world experiences. Additionally, what you get in honors courses that is different is a more engaged and well-prepared group of classmates and thus a higher level of discussion about and comprehension of the material in the class. Honors classes do not necessarily involve longer papers, harder reading, more homework, etc. than non honors courses.

The honors program works to create a schedule that allows the most flexibility for our students as possible, and provides priority registration times to ease our students’ ability to schedule all of the courses they may need. Honors classes typically range from 1-3 credits (most courses in departments are either 3 or 4 credits), so they are smaller and easier to fit into a demanding course schedule. We also have a number of ways that students can get credit in honors without sitting in an honors class. You can turn ANY course into an honors course by working with the honors director and the faculty member teaching the course to design an additional project that goes beyond the class curriculum. You can also get honors credit for study abroad or for internships, to give two examples out of many. Overall, while most honors courses will not be classes that fulfill your major requirements, they will fit in with your major(s) and minor(s) and should not add time to your graduation clock.

The honors program values having a community of students that is inclusive of all areas of study on campus, including the Conservatory of Music. While study in the Conservatory is demanding of students both inside and outside the classroom, completion of the honors program is still possible and offers great advantages to Conservatory students in terms of broadening their community and base of experiences and opportunities at BW.

Students in the Conservatory fulfill the same honors program requirements as other students, but do have the potential to earn up to 12 credit hours through honors versions of required Conservatory classes. Classes that are offered in honors versions include the following:

MUC 111H Tonal Harmony 1 2 credits

MUC 113H Tonal Harmony 2 2 credits

MUC 211H Tonal Harmony 3 2 credits

MUC 112H Solfege-Eurhythmics 1 2 credits

MUC 114H Solfege-Eurhythmics 2 2 credits

MUC 212H Solfege 3 2 credits

12 total credits possible

Admission to these honors courses, however, is based on student performance on placement exams given prior to the start of classes for first-year students and thereafter on performance in the courses themselves. In other words, students do not simply self-select into these courses and are not in any way pre-approved for them based on their admission to the honors program. Students can move both up and down in terms of their placement in harmony and solfege sections (which are offered in tiers based on rigor, pace of study, and prior knowledge), and this movement is largely determined by the judgment of Conservatory faculty.

Many Conservatory/honors program students will not place into the honors sections of harmony and/or solfege, but that does not mean that completion of the honors program is no longer possible. In this case, Conservatory students will want to work closely with their honors program advisor to find ways to consistently make progress on honors requirements while also completing their degree in the Conservatory. Conservatory students might be more likely to take advantage of doing honors options in their courses and seeking opportunities to gain honors waivers for experiences that do not impinge on their Conservatory course schedule.

We also look for second language study, AP courses and other signs of a rigorous course of academic study in high school.

In addition to the students who meet the established criteria, other qualified students may be issued an invitation to join the program based on recommendations from the admissions committee and honors program director. If you would like to be considered for the program, please contact either admissions or the honors program to alert us to your interest.

The honors program curriculum culminates in a senior thesis that allows students to select a topic of interest and engage in extensive research with a faculty mentor. Honors theses range from traditional in-depth studies of authors or texts to writing creative works like novellas, plays and musical compositions to constructing case-studies, business plans or web-portfolios. Ultimately, the thesis is a “product” that students can use to market themselves to graduate programs or employment opportunities.

Yes! The honors leadership board organizes service, leadership, social and educational programs throughout the school year for the honors program. Events include a fall picnic, documentary viewings and discussions, holiday celebrations, trips to local events and service drives to collect items for local communities in need.

Students in the honors program receive priority course registration times in order to help them accommodate our additional expectations. Incoming honors students are taken on a two-night off-campus retreat prior to the start of fall classes in order to start bonding as a class and becoming integrated into the honors community. Honors students can also elect to live in Honors living and learning communities, which are dedicated to fostering academic excellence and interpersonal growth.

Starting in 2016, honors will begin offering a subsidized international service-learning program to Guatemala. Throughout the academic year, honors offers many opportunities for career and leadership development experiences including our leadership through mentoring program and our leadership and career development workshop.

The honors program does not award students with scholarships. However, honors students are able to apply to the program to request of funding to support travel to conferences, community service trips, study abroad or the purchase of research supplies. Students can apply for up to a $1,000 to study abroad.